The Secret Life of Bees

This stage adaptation features verbatim portions of The New York Times bestseller. Set during the Civil Rights Movement, a young girl’s search for the truth about her mother leads her to three beekeeping sisters and the true meaning of family. This powerful performance explores important themes of family, freedom, faith, violence, and civil rights.

California Content Standards easily applied in your classroom:

• 9-10.EN.3.4: Determine characters’ traits by what the characters say about themselves in narration, dialogue, dramatic monologue, and soliloquy.
• 11-12.EN.3.2: Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection represents a view or comment on life, using textual evidence to support the claim.

LESSON PLAN IDEA: Discuss the significance of the title. How are bees a metaphor for the story? What other symbolism is there in this novel?

Visit the artist’s website at www.americanplacetheatre.org.